Memphis Standard

U.S. Senators Marsha Blackburn and Catherine Cortez Masto have introduced the Tax Administration Simplification Act, a bipartisan effort aimed at easing tax filing and payment processes for individuals and small businesses. The legislation seeks to protect taxpayers from penalties resulting from delays by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS).

"Taxpayers shouldn’t be penalized when the IRS is delayed in processing their tax returns even though they submitted them on time," stated Senator Blackburn. "Our Tax Administration Simplification Act would shield taxpayers from unfair penalties, streamline tax filing, and provide more flexibility for small businesses."

Senator Cortez Masto emphasized the importance of this bill for Nevada's economy: "I’ve heard from Nevada small businesses and workers about the challenges they face when filing their taxes, so I’m fighting to cut burdensome paperwork and streamline this process." She added that the legislation aims to make it easier for Nevadans to file taxes without facing unnecessary penalties.

The proposed act includes several key measures:

- Protecting taxpayers from penalties due to IRS delays in electronic filing by extending the “mailbox rule” to electronically submitted documents.

- Simplifying S-Corp elections for small businesses by allowing them to make an election on their first timely filed tax return.

- Standardizing estimated tax deadlines with evenly spaced quarterly payments.

These changes are designed to reduce filing burdens and make tax compliance more intuitive.